Adventurous route that combines the Great Valley Trail with the Paulinskill Valley and Sussex Branch rail-trails.
14.5 miles, total round trip. Surface is gravel and dirt, ranging from 4-6’ wide to a narrow strip. A few rutted areas that can be deeply muddy. Overall, Great Valley is more rugged than PVT or Sussex Branch.
| 14.5 miles | This biking guide: Detailed instructions and photos follow below. |
| Longer | Extend with more Paulinskill Valley or Sussex Branch. |
| Alternate, same lot: | Paulinskill Valley Trail – Warbasse Junction to Cedar Ridge |
| Nearby | Paulinskill Valley Trail – Cedar Ridge to Aqueduct; Kittatinny Valley State Park; Lake Aeroflex Kayak; Swartswood State Park; Swartswood Grist Mill Trail. |
Our two cents:
Varied scenery along the three rail-trails. Generally level with minor elevation changes. Some street crossings, some that have a brief up or downhill to them. Avoid after heavy rain. Trail is shared with horses.
For biking, all three of these are rougher when compared to other New Jersey rail-trails such as the Columbia Trail or the D&R Canal Towpath, be sure to read the sections on bike type and trail surface before heading out. If Great Valley seems too much, check out either of our guides for Paulinskill Valley.
For hiking/trail running, all three trails are easy.
Updated: 10/2025 – Minor edits; re-biked. 4/2024 – Created a new, more detailed guide for the loop.
What type of bike to use?
We generally recommend hybrid, gravel, or mountain bikes for rail-trails. Road bikes are probably not a good idea for Paulinskill or Sussex and they aren’t suitable at all for Great Valley.
Currently, we love our chain-less, no maintenance Priority 600 bikes for all fun and no fuss. We’ve been impressed how they tackle anything, even rougher trails like Great Valley and the McDade trail.
If you’re new to biking and don’t want to commit, try renting, Craigslist for used, or start with an inexpensive bike.
Related: NJ Bike Trails overview page.
Parking: N41.08519° W74.69973°
Paulinskill Valley Trail Parking, Lafayette, NJ 07848. Warbasse Junction lot is a small dirt parking area that can fill up. Multiple other access points, see maps.
If approaching from Rt 206N through Newton, turn right onto 94N. Right on Warbasse Junction Road (Route 663). Half mile to the lot on the right.
If approaching from Rt 80 W, take 15 N through Sparta. Turn left onto 94. Left on Warbasse Junction Road (Route 663). Half mile to the lot on the right.
Restrooms:
Portable toilet at Warbasse Junction Road lot (it’s next to the now closed composting toilet in the photo below) but there also a Quick Chek about 5 minutes from the trailhead.
Trail Maps/Books:
Trail maps linked above. Follow along on your smartphone with our Interactive Map link above.
These rail-trails are managed by Kittatinny Valley State Park but other than part of the Sussex Branch, don’t appear on their trail maps.
Refreshments:
Angry Erik Brewing can be accessed right from the Paulinskill Valley Trail. It’s very early in this route however, so you might want to drive over after or reverse the route so its at the end. There’s even a “Paulinskill Ale” named for the trail.
Roughly a mile from the end of the route at a corner in Lafayette is a cafe, Fine Arts Center, and antique and gift shops. Multiple stores when approaching via Rt. 206 or Rt. 15.
Trail Surface:
The surface of Sussex Branch and Paulinskill Valley Trail ranges from wide trail to narrow single track with grass on either side.
The Paulinskill from Warbasse Junction parking was resurfaced in 2025. It appears in photos like it might be loose or sandy but it’s a hard packed gravel-ish surface. The trail appeared widened as well.
This makes a BIG difference – smoother, no ruts or mud, and we were zipping along faster than we’d ever had here. I forget to note where the resurfacing ended but believe it went at least as far as the Rt. 206 crossing.
On all three trails there is the occasional gate to ride around.
Great Valley is the most rugged of the three and is more like a trail vs a rail-trail. And at times the surface is closer to being a mountain bike trail – minus hills or turns.
Some parts of Great Valley are overgrown and/or very narrow. It’s not all like this but there are stretches that are, and some areas even more overgrown than this.
Route Details:
Overview: Paulinskill Valley – Great Valley – Sussex Branch
0.0 – Start following the Paulinskill Valley Trail around the gate near the trail signs. [Across the road is also Paulinskill Valley for a short distance before it intersects with the Sussex Branch trail].
Starting from Warbasse, the first bit of the trail heads uphill slightly, has a little loose gravel, and frequent road crossings.
Fun Facts: The parking area was the location of Warbasse Station – a passenger station, freight house, and milk depot for up to 50 trains daily that ran along the banks of the Paulins Kill, a tributary of the Delaware River. The station was named for the family who’s farm the railroad passed through. [Sources: park signage; history brochure].
1.8 – Cross Rt. 206. This can be busy and fast moving. A small cafe is across the street, on the left end of the buildings.
Eventually it’s more level and there aren’t as many road crossings.
2.1 – A casual path on the right leads to Angry Erik Brewing (there might be a sign). The path goes down wooden steps then back up and around to the right.
Once at the back of the brewery, head to the left to enter through a gate in the fence to where there are picnic tables, or mosey around to the front.
Houses and farms are visible along the way. Possibly spot some cows peeking through the trees from a field adjacent to the trail.
2.8 – Cross Rt. 519. Soon pass a marker post with “JC 68” painted on it.
A rail-trail is basically an old railroad that has been converted for recreational use. Signposts along the railroad would mark the miles to the terminal station. This post indicates “68 miles to Jersey City”.
Fun Facts: The Paulinskill Valley Trail is the location of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad. It was built in 1886 and ran from Columbia to Sparta until 1962 when the tracks were removed. [Source: Paulinskill Valley Trail on Wikipedia]
Soon Paulinskill Valley Trail bears left and crosses a quiet paved road. There’s a pullout on the side of the road with room for one car. Pass around a trail gate. The trail curves to the left.
3.2 – The trail passes through several areas with tall rock faces, where the railroad was cut right through. Paulinskill Valley curves to the left.
A country road with the Great Valley Trail beyond that might be spotted through the trees, on the right, as they run parallel to the Paulinskill Valley in this section.
3.9 – Pass a marker post with “JC 69” and almost immediately cross over an unmarked wide path. Cross a power line cut with a view.
4.9 – Cross Plotts Road and go downhill a bit. Soon a waterfall is on the left, below the trail. This may be harder to see with leaves on the trees, or may be not flowing at all if it’s been dry.
Fun Facts: Find out how Len Frank lead a grassroots conservation effort to the turn the former railway into a recreation trail.
5.4 – Junction with Great Valley Trail. [Paulinskill Valley Trail continues straight ahead.] When last here, there was no sign facing this direction, just in the opposite.
So keep an eye out for the backs of a these signs, on the right side of the trail.
At this junction, turn RIGHT and RIGHT again, then cross a country road to a gate to start following the Great Valley Trail.
There is a sign for the Great Valley Trail on the gate. Immediately the trail is a bit more overgrown / rugged than the Paulinskill.
At first Great Valley runs back parallel to the Paulinskill Valley Trail, that and the adjacent road might be seen through the trees.
Much of this trail is a narrow dirt track. But we’ve also encountered areas of deep mud, some minor up and down sections.
5.8 – The trail runs above a road intersection and a trail parking area along Plotts Road.
6.7 – The Great Valley Trail briefly runs on a narrow strip of land between a field and a large green swampy section on the right.
At some point there started being bumpy and rocky areas (flatish, not the pointy-jabby ones common in a lot of North Jersey) in this section of the GVT. Not thrilled about rocks. Bumpy enough that eventually my arms were vibrating.
I apparently don’t have photos of the less than ideal sections as I was concentrating getting through them. While parts of the Great Valley Trail are more challenging than we normally bike, overall we find it fun (other than those rocks maybe).
7.7 – Walk past a gate (or around if closed) and cross Rt. 626 / Halsey Road.
The trail crosses above State Coach Road on a bridge.
The Great Valley Trail follows a pipeline cut for part of the way. The yellow posts are markers for the pipeline. Here the trail is a narrow strip of dirt between grass.
Along this stretch on our 10/2025 ride I spotted a black bear darting across the path ahead, so we gave it a few minutes before riding past that area going HEYYYYY BEAR! to let ’em know we were passing through. And in 2014 we had a bald eagle swoop over our heads. Never know what you’re gonna encounter in Jersey.
9.1 – Cross Morris Turnpike, where there is room for a few cars.
10.2 – The Great Valley Trails ends at an intersection with the Sussex Branch Trail. Start following Sussex Branch towards Warbasse Jct. by heading straight out of the parking area and immediately crossing Augusta Road. [Sussex Branch also goes left towards Branchville, for a bit further]
Fun Fact: The Sussex Branch trail follows the 21 mile route of the Sussex Branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad that was in use from 1848 to 1966. [Source: park signage; Wikipedia].
Much of the Sussex Branch is also a narrow dirt trail with grass on either side with less mud and bumps but there were brief sections of small rocks. Overall it is easier to ride than the Great Valley Trail and similar to Paulinskill.
The view is off forest, fields, and the river. The Sussex Branch trail has a few street crossings and multiple bridges where is crosses the Paulins Kill River (this flows for 40 miles from Newton to the Delaware River in Knowlton).
Get a good look at the Paulins Kill from the bridges.
13.3 – Intersection with Morris Farm Road in Lafayette. A cafe and antique and gift shops are to the left. Cross the road and ride by the sculpture garden of Lafayette Fine Art Center.
13.7 – The trail starts to curve to the right. Cross Rt. 94.
14.4 – Sign at the intersection with the Paulinskill Valley Trail. Turn RIGHT to follow this again. [Sussex Branch continues ahead, Paulinskill Valley Trail also goes left a bit more].
Soon, cross the road and arrive back at the Warbasse Junction parking area.
// Optional extension: Instead, continue ahead to keep on Sussex Branch. Add ~6.8 miles total round trip to the Newton Little House and back.
This is a small scale replica house on a large lawn. Here the Sussex Branch Trail turns to pavement briefly through Newton then will rejoin dirt trail, continuing all the way to Allamuchy State Park.
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Biked 10/4/25. 21.9, with extra Sussex to Newton.
Biked 10/2/21.
Biked 9/7/14. 26 miles, with extra Sussex. Trail Blog: “Biking Sussex Branch, Paulinskill Valley, and The Great Valley Rail Trail Loop“